When we first lived in the Mediterranean I loved the idea of sitting on my balcony with a cold glass of wine and a bowl of olives. It was part of the experience for me. What a bloody disappointment, olives were awful!! But they were set out nearly everywhere you went, bars, friends houses, starters in restaurants, the local cafe gave you a few if you ordered a glass of wine...
Now I love them! I love the oily, salty, deliciousness. As a previous poster said, they do grow on you.